A concert featuring a number of top hallyu stars was held Oct. 2 in Shanghai, China at the closing ceremony of a Formula 1 Grand Prix competition. Performers included Kang Ta, Chang Nara and Bada, among others.

Formula 1, which Korea will host in 2010, is held by the International Automobile Federation in only 17 or 18 countries. The Shanghai competition first opened in 2004. This year, the Chinese authorities organized the hallyu concert and a vast array of other cultural events after the competition.

Actress Chang Seo-hee has been invited as a VIP guest to the Shanghai Korean Film Festival slated for October 1 in China.

Chang will participate in all major events of the festival, including a festival eve party and the opening and closing ceremonies.

Chang has received a special invitation to the festival as her popularity soared in China for her roles in the movies “Ghost House” and “My Captain, Kim Dae Chul” as well as the TV drama “Mermaid Girl.”

Organized by the State Administration of Radio Film and Television, the festival is sponsored by China’s influential institutions, including the Shanghai municipal government, attesting to the popularity of Korean films and actors in China.

The male band Shinhwa will soon launch an Asian tour beginning on July 8th in Shanghai, China.

The group will leave for Shanghai on July 6th to give the concert entitled “State-of-the-Art in Shanghai.” The band will visit the Chinese city for the first time in four years as the first leg of its Asian tour outside Korea.

Some 10,000 tickets to Shinhwa’s concert were sold out just a month after their release in late May, with each ticket costing up to 1880 yuan, or 240,000 won.

Attesting to the group’s popularity, some 100 journalistic teams from Chinese media outlets will attend Shinhwa’s news conference slated for July 7 in China.